Chapter 7 Gathering forces
by James Neal
Summary: All the members of the have arrived for the big meeting to plan their next move. It isn't long before they realize that coming up with a plan they can all agree on will be more difficult than they thought. there is also an announcement that will suddenly change everything.


Chapter 7

GATHERING FORCES

Lionette and Timtam entered the meeting room first. Timtam hurried over and picked out a seat for Lionette at the far end of the long table. The room was clean and modern. The Feloid Assembly had granted the rebellion leaders this base as a safe haven against the Empire in secret to use as a base of operations. The base was originally a repair station for one of the clans that had now through a marriage been abandoned in the consolidation of assets. It had been given to the council as tribute. The next to enter was Tarin and Adda Beddo, a Jedi scholar and force healer, Adda had been working with the group mainly in a supporting role. Buck Bronski who, true to form, made it no secret he was giving Adda a good looking over followed them. She was tall and well muscled. Adda, true to her temples rules kept her head shaven except for a shock of hair on top. Her caramel colored skin and only the slightest vestments covered ample bosom, as is custom with many people that have sworn themselves to a life of poverty. However in Adda's case it tended to be a distraction more than a statement of her beliefs. Tarin elbowed Bronski hard for looking at Adda and making her feel uncomfortable.

Thorim was now coming down the hall puffing on a huge cigar. He stopped for a second and patted himself down as if he was trying to find some lost item in his medical apron. He stood twitching what was left of his tail, the last foot and a half was lost in bar fight in his youth.

"Ah ha!" Thorim muttered as he found the pack of cigars he was looking for and continued into the room.

Granic and Lore came from the other direction. Granic was arguing that none of this should be happening on this base. His point was the Feloids aren't really in this fight so they should move the whole operation too somewhere in Reptus controlled space were they would have allies that would fight with them. Lore was trying to calm Granic and have him save his comments for the meeting.

Next came Kang and Baltis, the unofficial reptilian representatives of the group. Kang, like Lore, was an Official Jedi warrior and was fierce as he was patient. Baltis was his opposite. He had a shady past that for now had been over looked because of his uncanny skill as a sniper. It was Baltis that killed the three security guards at the junkyard saving Lionette.

Venis Vey and Ceecee had been waiting in the hallway until the others arrived. They had been talking about the up coming meeting and were in agreement as far as their goals.

The last to enter was Matt and Pep. Matt looked at Lionette to see her reaction to Pep's new attire. She was no longer wearing a traditional slave harness but the clothes of a free person. Although the clothes were fairly average the statement that she was now free and entitled to be an equal in this meeting for the first time was clear to all there. Lionette appeared not to be bothered. Timtam gave Pep a smile of approval at her new look. Pep smiled but not at Timtam. She didn't want Lionette to see her response but Timtam knew just the

same.

"I am glad to see we are all here and well, may the force be with us this day."Adda had been chosen to head the meeting this day. There were delicate issues to be discussed and everyone had agreed she would be the most neutral in these matters.

"May the force be with us all." Kang added.

Bronski put both feet on the table, crossed his fingers, and put his hands behind his head. Tarin waited for him to make some comment about the blessing as it was well known that he didn't believe in the force. But to her amazement he kept quiet. It was most likely because he was still admiring Adda's figure and wasn't listening anyway.

"I have the honor of your trust to head this meeting. The issue at hand is the disposition of Mykala. She is currently in the protective custody of our good friend Lionette's father.

Some amongst us have found problems with this decision. As it stands now the only person that knows the location of Mykala is Maxis Ty. The idea that the Feloids now have control over her destiny is bringing up concerns that need to be brought forward."Adda said as she stood at the head of the table.

"I think we should begin the meeting with a statement from Kang." Adda said.

"Thank you."said Kang as he stood up. Kang was huge even by Reptilian standards. He stood well over seven feet tall and in his traditional armor seemed almost as wide.

"We must make it very clear to the Feloid representative,Lionette, that in no way is this to be seen as a lack of trust towards our Feloid friends. As a Jedi I must make it clear we have always and still do find the issue of Feloid loyalty to our goals beyond reproach."Kang nodded in Lionettes direction.

"The Jedi leadership feels this burden that Maxis Ty has taken on is an unfair one and Mykala is entirely a Jedi responsibility and not a risk he need to take."Kang bowed and sat down.

"Does anyone else have anything they want to add?" Adda asked.

"Yeah, why is this meeting being held in this place any way? The Feloids aren't going to take a stand against the Empire until they have star destroyers flying up their asses. I say we pack up this whole freakin' flower show and head back to Reptus space were we have allies that aren't afraid of a fight." Granic's tone revealed his distrust of other races and his disdain for anyone not in this fight.

"Granic we all know what you think so why don't you just let Kang do the talking for you guys and shut the fuck up."Bronski said leaning forward.

"Please gentlemen, we are here to be constructive. We can worry about side issues later . For now let us continue to focus on one thing at a time." Adda interrupted.

"It's no secret to anyone here in this room that I don't like Mykala, but has anybody bothered to ask her what she wants to do?"Vee said as she leaned forward. "I gotta say that this whole line of thinking about what to do with her without her here is kinda unsettling if you ask me"

"I have to agree with Vee on this one gang, I really think this should be left up to Mykala to decide, after all it's her neck in the noose." said Ceecee.

"Shorty's got a point Kang, Mykala should be in on this." Bronski said as he lit up a cigar without asking if anyone cared. "I know I would be fucking pissed if it was me being plotted about."

Lionette stood up, "These are all good points to be considered, but for now I don't feel there is any rush to decide this today. It is obvious that there are many view points to discuss but there is really no need to do this right now."

"Yes there is."Pep said in a quiet voice.

Lionette caught herself before she admonished Pep for speaking against her. The idea that this little piece of trash had publicly challenged her, a princess, was almost too much to bare.

"What do you mean Pep?"asked Matt. He sensed the anger rising in Lionette so he quickly diverted the question towards himself.

Pep looked sheepishly around the room. Maybe she shouldn't have spoken. It wouldn't have been the first time she made a fool of herself in front of these people.

"I had a dream about it."Pep said looking only at Matt.

Matt's heart sank, didn't she understand how important this was?

"In my dream Mykala was being chased and none of us could help her."Pep was looking down at the floor, she just wanted to help.

Lionette had had enough,"Matt I must ask you to control your...friend in these meetings if she is going to attend. My father has things well in hand and..."

Pep was still looking down and began to cry. Matt looked at Lionette angrily.

"In my dream your father was dead."Pep interrupted.

"That is enough! I will not listen to the ravings of this little passed around trollop anymore! Lionette shouted.

Just then one of Lionette's bodyguards burst into the room and dropped to one knee.

"What is this interruption Sergeant!" Lionette yelled at the soldier for his incredible bad timing.

"Forgive me my lady, I bring grave news." said the Sergeant looking down.

"Well, out with it." Lionette snapped at him.

"Assassins, your father has been shot and is not expected to survive." he said bluntly.

"Oh father!" Lionette fell back into her chair covering her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes. Timtam lept to her side and took her hand to comfort her.

"My lady we must go, you are needed at your fathers side this night." the Sergeant said as he stood.

"I may be of some help, may I go with you?" Adda asked. She was a Jedi force healer and it was said they could do miracles.

"Yes Adda, thank you." Lionette stood trembling helped by Timtam. Everyone in the room stood as Lionette walked out.

As she left Lionette looked over her shoulder at Pep. Pep was holding Matt tightly and crying as if it had been her own father that had been shot.

Matt watched Lionette and Timtam leave the room. He looked to see everyone's reaction to the news only to see they were all looking at Pep.

"Well, well, well, something new has been added to the mix I think." said Thorim still puffing away on his big black cigar.

They all sensed as he did that the dream was more than a coincidence. It was a vision of the future.

Kang had asked the guards to let him know if anything changed in Maxis Ty's condition.

"I think it would be best if we all retired to the common room where we will be more comfortable as we wait to see what transpires, it would be best if we are not separated.

"Kang, that might not be the best course of action, if this hit wasn't just a Feloid thing it might be something bigger." Baltis said in a quiet tone as not to alert the others to his theory.

"Empire? "whispered Kang.

"If that girl had a premonition and not a dream then she may be tapping into something much bigger than local troubles." Baltis said. He was careful to have his back to the others so they wouldn't see him talking.

"Interesting." Kang said. He walked over to Matt and Pep and knelt on one knee in an almost laughable attempt to seem smaller and less threatening.

"Pep have you ever had dreams like this before, ones that came true. "Kang asked in a tone as non threatening as he could. The general make up of his massive head and throat caused his voice to be low with a growling quality that often made humans nervous.

"I have them less now than I used to." Pep said wiping the tears from her eyes.

"When I was a slave I started having these dreams that would warn me of what was going to happen before it did. Like if something was going to happen that would make my master angry I could maybe stop it from happening."

"Have you had any other dreams like that lately?" asked Kang.

Pep looked at Matt and then back at Kang." Not really, not like something bad."

"It's okay Pep you can trust Kang, he's a friend." said Matt.

"Well I'm not sure if this has anything to do with anything but I keep having a dream were me and Matt are doing stuff together and it's a good dream but for one thing, Matt has a different face."

Matt's heart skipped a beat.

"No, I don't think that has anything to do with anything we need to know about." Kang let out an uneasy laugh.

Matt laughed a little too.

"Oh! I didn't mean that." Pep said.

"Hey are we going to the common room or what Kang?" Granic asked.

Tarin was looking at Baltis. She had a feeling something was up. Baltis looked over to see Tarin looking at him and walked out of the room.

'What's the hold up Kang, what are you guys doing over there? Tarin asked.

"Nothing at all, just a hunch I had." said Kang standing up.

" You know I heard people that are abused sometimes become psychic and get weird powers and stuff." Ceecee said to Vee.

"It's just a coincidence Ceecee, don't fall for that stuff." said Vee.

"The attempt on Maxis Ty's life may be part of an attack by the Empire. I have no information that would make me believe that this is what has happened but we should be on our guard none the less." Kang said. "Since the bases sensors are not on line yet some of us should make a sweep of the area with the ships on hand. The rest should be on guard here."

"Pep and I will take out a Y-wing for a look." Matt volunteered.

"I might as well go too." Granic would take his own ship. He had modified it for speed by over looking most safety guidelines.

"Make sure you come back and not run back home to your mommy." Bronski new Granic was prejudiced against most other life forms so he never hesitated to make him hate them more.

Granic made a gesture with his hand to Bronski as he left the room that in Reptus culture insinuated that Bronski only made love to family members. Bronski laughed out loud knowing he had succeeded in his goal.

"The rest of us should pair up and do a sweep of the facility in case we have already been infiltrated." Kang said.

"Why don't you come with me big mouth? I could use your diplomatic skills if we run into trouble." Tarin said to Bronski.

"I got your skills." Bronski said as he willingly trailed after Tarin.

"I'll take Thorim and check the lower storage bay." Lore new Thorim wasn't a fighter and was a little slow at his age so he figured his Jedi combat skills would compensate for Thorim's lack of prowess if they ran into trouble.

"I guess that leaves me with you Vee" Ceecee said. She was the new kid on the block and hadn't really earned any type of trust with the others yet.

"Sounds good to me." Venis smiled at Ceecee. She had just recently joined the group a few months before Ceecee. They had hit it off almost immediately. Ceecee's twin sister was one of the original members of the group but her best friend Stella had killed her. Stella had been captured and tortured for months until she had gone completely mad. She blamed the group for not coming to rescue her and killed Ceecee's sister Kaycee. Stella had tried to kill the others but died in the battle. Like Venis, Ceecee had no friends or family she could count on so the two more or less adopted each other as friends.

Venis was between ships right now and had moved her stuff into Ceecee's huge repair ship. Ceecee had been tricked by her old crew and sold into slavery after they took control of her ship. It was Venis that convinced Guppa the Hutt to release her and help the group get the ship back.

"I guess we'll check out the first hangar bay Kang. I need to get my gun anyway." Venis said as the two girls left.

Kang watched them leave the room and walk down the hall. He looked at Baltis who had been standing in the hallway. Baltis was nervous. He was usually almost without emotion but he was in a position now of being the hunted and he was used to being the hunter.

"What do you feel Baltis?" Kang asked.

"Not sure, too much in my head right now to get a clear picture." answered Baltis. "I tell you Kang that catgirl has a lot more going on inside her than even she knows, we should keep our eyes on that one."

"That "catgirl" has a name, it's Pep, and I think your right. She is attuned to the force and has been for a long long time but with all that she has endured I'm not sure how it will manifest itself when the time comes." Kang said.

"Well boss, where do you want to check first? Baltis asked.

"If they come as assassins they may try to take us one at a time, so we should check the living quarters first." Kang answered.

Matt and Pep had taken one of the Y-wings and started on their patrol. Matt had been shocked to find out that Pep had dreams about him not being the real Matt Mazin.

"Pep what do you think those dreams about us meant?" Matt had finally gotten the courage to ask her. What if she really knew about his past, would she even admit it to him if she did?

"What do you mean?" Pep was sitting in the rear gunner's seat directly behind Matt. This Y-wing had not been converted into the droid controlled rear gunner station. Matt was training her how to be his gunner and to use weapons. He was worried that if anything happened to him the group wouldn't have a use for Pep and let her go.

"I mean the part about me having a different face, that was strange wasn't it?" Matt was trying to find out if the woman he loved knew his real past and what would she do about it.

Pep didn't answer.

"Well, what do you think it meant? Matt asked again.

"I don't want to say." Pep answered hesitantly.

She knew! She knew he was a fraud and a liar. He wondered if she had also dreamed about the other things he had done.

"What did it mean!" Matt was feeling the old him coming back. If she knew she might slip and tell the others about him. If she knew he may be forced to do something about her.

"Please, I don't want to say it." Pep said nervously

"Pep I want you to tell me what it meant right now!" Matt was almost yelling.

"It meant that I have been with so many men that I can't see your face. I can only see the men that hurt me." Pep yelled back.

What a relief! She didn't know.

He was safe.

She was safe.

"I'm sorry Pep, I was just a little jealous is all, I thought you were thinking of someone else." Matt sighed a sigh of relief under his breath.

"You felt...jealous?" Pep said. "You will never need to feel jealous with me Matt, I've always dreamed of you." Pep said.

Lionette and Timtam had boarded the ship that had brought the news of Lionette's father. She did not feel up to the task of flying her own ship. The security detail that had been sent would not have allowed it anyway. Since someone had tried to kill her father they may be trying to kill other leaders of their family. On the trip going home she had been briefed about the situation. Maxis Ty had been shot from long range. As of now there is no assassin in custody. Lionette's brother, Mundis Char is now in charge until she returns home. Cheena her younger sister is with her father by his side and is sending reports of his condition as it changes. Her youngest brother, Furonius, who was not at home when she was there last time is on route to the palace at this moment. He had been away over seeing Maxis Ty's battle fleet and preparing for the day he will be in command of it. Maxis Ty's wife, Lionessa had died giving birth to Furonius years ago. It is whispered that Maxis keeps Furonius away as not to remind him of his wife's death.

Lionette was in her stateroom with Timtam and a bodyguard.

"Sergeant, would you mind leaving us for a moment." Lionette said as she stood with all the grace and poise she could gather.

"Yes my lady." said the soldier and left the room.

Lionette turned away from the door and looked at Timtam. Her knees became suddenly weak and she collapsed on the floor. Timtam ran to her side and helped her back to her chair. Lionette was beginning to sob." This is all my fault Timtam; I never should have brought Mykala here. I have set the Empire against us and we shall all be killed." Lionette waited for Timtam to say something comforting.  
"I always knew you would not be up to the task when it arose." Timtam said as she took a step back.

Lionette couldn't believe her ears. "What did you say?" Lionette was angry now. At her worst moment Timtam found her repulsive.

"I knew when it was your time to rule you would fold, you are weak and I've always known it!" Timtam yelled at Lionette.

"You wicked little bitch, I'll kill you! Lionette lunged at Timtam, her combat reflexes had kicked in once again and in an instant she had Timtam on the floor with a knife to her throat.

"That's much better, that's the Lionette they need to see." Timtam said choking.

Lionette had realized what Timtam had done. She had snapped her out of her moment of weakness in a way that only she could. Timtam and Lionette's years together had breed a certain amount of familiarity between them. Only Timtam could have turned her around so quickly.

Lionette stood quickly and helped Timtam, still choking, to her feet.

"Thank you Timtam, I seem to have needed that." Lionette said patting Timtam on her back in an effort to help her catch her breath.

Lionette looked at the mirror and wiped the tears from her eyes and straightened her hair. When she walked out of the cabin she would walk out as the first daughter of Maxis Ty and not a sniveling spoiled brat. She looked back at Timtam for her approval as to her appearance but she was still recovering. "I'm leaving for the bridge, come join me after you have collected yourself."

Timtam was rubbing her throat and still half bent over, she simply gave Lionette a thumbs up.

Venis and Ceecee had completed their sweep of the hangar. It was huge but had almost nothing in it now since Granic took his ship out. They were sitting on the loading ramp of Ceecee's ship waiting to hear back from the others.

"So what do you think about that _dream _that Pep had, weird huh?" Ceecee asked Venis.

"That poor girl has been through more things than I even want to think about. Don't get me wrong, I like Pep, but how could anyone go through what she did and not come out messed up a little?" said Venis.

"I think she did know somehow, I think she has a gift." said Ceecee.

"Why do you think that?" Venis asked.

"Well you know about what happened to my sister right? Did you ever wonder why I stayed with the people that couldn't protect her?" Ceecee asked.

"It's not my business why you did that." Venis said trying to be polite.

"I wanted to leave when I found out but the night they told me I had a dream." Ceecee said

"Look, I don't mean any disrespect but I don't believe in this junk." Venis said bluntly.

Ceecee continued anyway. "That night my sister came to me in a dream and said she was okay and not to be sad. She said she was happy and would look out for me. She said her time here was supposed to end for a bigger purpose." Ceecee had tears of happiness in her eyes.

Venis could see Ceecee was really moved by what she had experienced.

"She also told me to forgive Stella for killing her and that she had." Ceecee was whispering now.

"Now see that doesn't make sense, Stella died too they should be able to see each other or something." Venis said

Ceecee leaned very close to Venis and looked around. "Stella Star is not dead." she whispered.


End file.
